The Real Kind of Pretty
by SmileyNarnian
Summary: Susan Pevensie has begun to slip away from Narnia. When memories and tragedies hit, will she remember what she's learned?
1. Makeup and Party Planning

**OK, If you noticed, this is my revised version of Chapter 1. I'm going through the entire story and fixing a few of my typos or mistakes, while adding minor details I meant to put in. Enjoy!**

I

"Then we'll act out our entire first adventure!" Lucy decided while jumping up with anticipation. "This'll be perfect!"

Susan heard them rambling on and on about Narnia and the "secret party" they were planning. She rolled her pale blue eyes in disgust, which acquired the appearance of sheer, misty ice. Continuing to apply her makeup, she tried to ignore her siblings. However, it was no use; she heard their plans despite her own wishes.

"If we act out the story, we'll have to get tons of Turkish Delight for Ed," Peter said, elbowing his younger brother, whose face began to turn to a shade of olive green.

"Do you mind skipping that?" Edmund pleaded. Lucy and Peter smiled jokingly at each other.

"OK, Lucy, you'll organize and get the Cair Paravel room ready," Peter ordered, sounding like the magnificent High King he was. The eldest brother was referring to the room he and Edmund put together right after the adventure with King Caspian. It was supposed to be Peter's room for studies, but he was rarely able to actually study in it, due to some modifications. Edmund helped decorate it like Cair Paravel's great hall, and soon you couldn't recognize the plain, boring study. Mrs. Pevensie thought they ornamented the room that way because of Peter's studies in ancient Britain. But little did she know that her children were really royalty.

"I made sure the party was after my studies and after you two come back from Eustace's house," Peter informed them. "And after Mum, Dad, and Su get back from America. Ed, make sure everyone who needs to be there is there." Then Peter muttered something that supsiciously sounded like "Susan."

The older sister scoffed and pulled her dark chocolate locks of hair back into a twist. She turned to her closet, putting her hands on her hips. _Now, what will I wear?_

_I can't go too fancy... After all, we're playing cricket... _Her eyes shifted from on side of the rack to the other. Finally, Susan made up her mind and reached out for a simple shirt and skirt.

_Bother Peter and Edmund have to chaperone. It's not like I'm twelve, Mum,_ Susan thought to herself. _They'll embarrass me in front of David, ruin the game, and Ed'll probably break a window. At least the Macready won't be here to call us 'a bunch of shenanigans.' But of course I don't apply to that title anymore..._

Something inside her seemed to say, "You are Queen Susan The Gentle, Queen Susan of the Horn." She froze for a second, trembling slightly. Susan quickly shook herself and ignored the voice. Grabbing a shoulder bag, Susan walked out of the room (which she shared with Lucy) and right into the conversation.

Edmund opened his mouth, but before he could let a word out, Susan interrupted and put in, "Yes, I know you're planning a party for your make-believe stories, and no, I'm not coming." Three faces immediately fell, sad and disappointed. Lucy crossed her arms with contempt.

"Susan Pevensie, you know it isn't make believe at all. It really was there!" Lucy argued. Susan rolled her frozen eyes again.

"How can you find it fun to pretend that what isn't real is? It's all rubbish." Susan looked away from her sister's glaring eyes.

"But it really-" Lucy was abruptly stopped by Edmund.

"As I said before: "Take no notice of her; she's always a wet blanket," said Edmund, quoting himself. Peter grinned, whereas Lucy turned away and Susan huffed.

A long, unwanted silence occured. The only noise was the regular _tick- tock_ of the wooden clock on the wall.

_Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock...._

Lucy finally broke the silence, turning back towards her older sister.

"Susan, do you really know what pretty means? You don't. A person is pretty if they still have faith," Lucy stated defiantly. "Not if they're caked with makeup. Pretty is someone who still believes."

**Thanks for reading! Please review, I gobble the words up like cake. (I really, really, really like cake.)**


	2. Broken Window

**Hi everyone who is actually reading this!!!!**

**I meant to put up this chapter earlier, but things came up. Just to let you know, this story is supposed to take place after **_**Prince Caspian**_** and it goes through the **_**Voyage of The Dawn Treader. **_**I base it on some of the movie, and some of the books.**

**Ok, I'll let you read now.**

Susan pondered her sister's words. They sounded well thought out and planned.

_I mean, I do believe _it _exists. Oh,I wish it hadn't been discovered at all. _Susan thought. _But what's the use thinking it does?_

A steady _knock, knock _shatters the icy silence. Edmund jumped up.

"Cricket time!" the brothers exclaimed in unison.

"Have fun," said Lucy, although she obviously wasn't being very sincere. The youngest retreated into a bedroom, sighing heavily.

Edmund dashed to the door and swung it open. "Hello!" He opened the door wider, as David gave him a small smile, then it expanded as he smiled at Peter, and finally there was a large grin for his date.

"Hi, Su, ready to play some cricket?" he asked her.

"Yes. Are you really sure you don't mind my brothers?" Susan made sure, even if there really wasn't any choice. Her two siblings looked at each other at the same time, then at David and Susan. The big brown pair of eyes was pleading with a hint of mischief, and the blue ones were almost a mirror image.

"No worries. I don't mind," replied David, but he wasn't sure he really meant what he said. "Let's go now!"

"Hurrah!" shouted the brothers. Susan rolled her eyes. David shot her a sympathetic glance.

They piled in David's family's car, Susan in the front and the boys in the back. David scooted his body as far away from Edmund, who sat in the middle. Peter shifted in the seat and bumped Edmund, who bumped into David as the car took a turn. Mentally, David scowled as he got back into position, pushing Edmund away lightly. Edmund didn't take notice.

The uncomfortable group arrived at David's house after an unbearably awkward ride. Susan breathed deeply, but received small relief. David ran to get everything from inside the house, which was tall and consisted of two floors. The bricks were bright red, and they almost hurt Susan's eyes in the sunlight. Finally, David appeared with all the supplies.

They played their matches in David's backyard, in which lush, green clover grew freely and beautiful flowers roamed. The game started out peacefully, then Peter lit the flame.

He threw the ball at his brother, hitting him perfectly on the knee.

"Ow!" exclaimed Edmund with a yelp.

"Whoops. Wake up, dolly daydream," Peter teased.

"Oh, shut up," Edmund muttered, as Susan's ice blue eyes rolled round.

"Are you ready now?" asked Peter.

"Are you?" Edmund challenged. The ball flew towards him swiftly, and he hit it right into one of the glass windows. The four ran inside immediately.

_It's Professor Kirke's all over again,_ Susan thought to herself, trailing closely behind the three boys.

**Please review; it's appreciated! Apologies for it being so short, but the next one's going to be posted sooner. **


	3. Traitor?

**Hi everyone!!! Hope this chapter's a tad better than the last. By the way, I don't own Narnia! (As if you didn't know that.)**

Susan stood right behind her younger brother in silence. If Edmund had a tail, it would be flat from Susan stepping on it.

"Well done, Ed," Peter said sarcastically, without realizing that he said the exact same thing three years ago.

"You balled it!" accused Edmund, who didn't realize it either. Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"That's my Dad," whispered David. "Run!" They followed him through the house.

They were chased for what seemed like ages, until Susan came to a quite empty room, except for one large wardrobe, the type that has a looking glass in the door and takes you to unexpected places.

She saw Edmund open the door and gesture to go inside. Without second thought, she plunged in and shut her eyes tight. The air grew cold and her body shivered.

Suddenly Susan wasn't amongst the soft fur coats. She opened her eyes and found herself in an icy enclosure, with angry Narnian creatures surrounding her. Their eyes gleamed with anger.

"You abandoned us!"

"Traitor!"

The mad cries rung in her ears terribly. She couldn't hold back the shriek which slipped from her lips at once.

"Su?"

She was back in David's hallway. The boys were staring at her with questioning looks in their eyes.

"You okay?" Susan nodded in response to Edmund.

_What just happened? _Susan thought. David's eyes were concerned.

"You were screaming. Sure everything's alright?"

Susan felt so dizzy she couldn't tell who was talking. The air seemed hazy as she started to lose her balance, falling against her younger brother. She quickly rebalanced herself and attempted to act as if nothing happened. The boys didn't find it convincing.

"I'm okay! Now let's get on and decide what to do," she said, looking down at the cricket ball and then at the broken window. "What about your dad?" she asked David.

"My Dad's out of the house. No worries. At least until he gets back. Su, is everything okay?"

"Oh," Susan muttered. _What's going on?_ "I'm fine. Perfectly fine."

"Oh, really?" Peter said under his breath sarcastically. "If you're fine, let's get on."

They doubtfully restarted their game and the rest of the time was relatively calm.

Susan surprised herself by feeling relief once the three got home. Silence greeted them as Peter unlocked the door.

"Lu?" the oldest called.

"I'm in my room," she hollered.

_Now, I can relax._ Susan dashed to the room and flopped down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling and traced the outline until Lucy broke the quiet.

"How was it?" she asked awkwardly.

"Not the best," Susan scowled.

"I thought you were 'in love' with David," Lucy pointed out.

"It wasn't him."

"Oh, Ed and Peter couldn't have been that bad!" replied Lucy with a slight smile.

"No, it wasn't them either." Susan fidgeted with her jacket.

"Okay, are you going to tell me?"

"I'd rather not. Leave me alone," Susan ordered in her "grown-up voice," as Edmund called it.

"All right!" Lucy said back. _Will Susan ever learn to act her own age, and not about ten years older?_

**Okay, I had meant to put this on yesterday! Sorry for the unexpected wait!**


	4. Hit with Memories

**Hello! **

**Please note that flashbacks are in italics.**

"Ow! You hit that ball hard!" Edmund rubbed his sore knee as the brothers sat on their beds talking.

"Sorry, Ed. I really couldn't resist," explained Peter with a grin. "At least _I _wasn't the one to break _another_ window."

"Hey! _You_ were the one who balled it. So, really, I've never broken a window," Edmund proved. Peter rolled his eyes.

"No, remember? You got mad a few years ago at boarding school and threw your books at a window! Did you forget?" Peter reminded him. "So really, if your theory is right, which it isn't, but anyways, if your theory is right, I broke two windows and you broke one. But your theory isn't right, so you've broken three windows." Peter looked up. "Did you even get any of that?"

"Yeah. I forgot about that time," Edmund admitted. "Speaking of broken windows, what happened to Su? She was acting strange after I broke- I mean, _you_ broke the window."

"I don't know. She wasn't okay, even if she said she was," Peter said.

"Yes, that game was ruined!"

"Never mind the game. What do you _think_ happened?" Peter asked his brother, who merely shrugged in response.

"It seemed pretty serious. She fell on me!" Edmund said after a quiet moment. The usual happy chirping of the crickets seemed gloomy.

"Why did it come to this? Maybe if she went to Narnia just _one _more time, maybe it would be different," Peter sighed.

"Too bad you got older."

"We can't help that!" Peter replied with a louder voice. At that point, Lucy walked into the room.

"Susan told me that Mum told her to tell you that it's dinner time, but she told me to tell you instead of telling you herself because she was too busy telling Mum about David so I told you," she announced, taking a deep breath afterwards.

"Your point?" Edmund asked.

"Dinner's ready," Lucy said shortly, giving her brother a small smile.

_______________

Long after dinner, Susan sat at the table she had cleared. Her eyes moved towards the recently washed dishes. She had just taken a shower, but Susan felt as if she had bathed in thick layers of mud.

Examining her life, she looked back at the past years.

_"Happy birthday, Susan!"_

Susan could vaguely remember her second birthday party. Peter was only a year older than her, but they were as close as two peas in a pod. They went everywhere together, protected each other, and could hate each other all at the same time. In the end, they were always reassured that they cared for each other. Everything fit in perfectly, but of course there were still a few more pieces to fill in.

_"Peter, Susan, you have a little brother!"_

Shortly after she turned three, Edmund entered the Pevensie family. Peter's attention started to split between Susan and her new brother, but most of it remained on Susan.

Edmund changed the course of all of the relationships between the siblings. Life was never boring after that. Permanent carpet stains, colored walls and bedsheets, furniture overturned.... all chaos led back to Edmund.

_"Peter, Susan, Edmund, you have a little sister!"_

_"A sis-ter?" little one year old Edmund asked._

_"A sister?" asked Peter and Susan together. Susan's eyes widened, and Peter beamed._

_"Yes! Meet Lucy," Mrs. Pevensie said, leaning down a little so the tree could see the newest addition. Edmund toddled over to his mother and stumbled at the edge of a rug, falling flat on his face._

_"Aw, Mommy- she's- so- cute!" Peter spoke very quickly, as four year olds do. The older sister tensed up. _

_"Luuuuuuu- cEEEEEE!" Edmund shrieked, who just stood up._

Everything was different from then on. Peter's attention completely shifted, leaving only a little to Edmund and Susan. Edmund didn't really mind, since he already could preoccupy himself with mischief, but for Susan it was a different story. She was no longer Peter's "favorite sister."

_"You're my favorite sister!" Susan heard Peter say to Lucy when he was five. Tears had welled up in Susan's melting blue eyes as he hugged Lucy as he once embraced her._

_"Su?"_

_Susan turned to see her younger brother standing behind her, holding a half- eaten biscuit._

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Do you need a hug?"_

_"No." Despite Susan's answer, Edmund surprised her by giving her one, anyways. She smiled, knowing that her brother usually was not a touch person._

_"Group hug!" Peter said, as he entered the room with his youngest sister. They piled on top of each other in a heap. Soon Susan forgot that she was upset about anything._

The four siblings grew up, while Susan's jealousy subsided for a while and she learned to make the most of it.

**Hey, sorry this took so long to post! Things are coming so slowly because of holidays. (I was on vacation) I'll try to update sooner.**


	5. Boarding School Memories

**Yay! I finally got this chapter on when I wanted to!!!!!!!**

Susan shut her eyes and remembered the rest.

_"Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lu," their father said, gathering them all in the kitchen. "You four will be going to boarding school."_

_"What do you mean?" asked Edmund at once._

_"It's just like school," Helen Pevensie told them. "Only you'll live at the school."_

_"Oh, what fun!" Lucy piped up. She didn't really understand very well, but the youngest was always trying to be cheerful._

_"Fun? How can living at school be fun?" Edmund said, with an edge of anger apparent in his voice._

_"Edmund, you'll be with Peter. It's not so bad. You'll see," his father assured him, but it was no use. His youngest son stomped out of the room. The five remaining heard a loud slam echo through the household which seemed to shake the walls._

_"But why? Schools perfectly fine here," ten year old Susan pointed out. "I don't wanna leave!"_

_"That isn't the point. It's a little complicated to say the least, but it's all for the best," her mother replied._

_"When do we have to go?" Peter tried to sound comfortable with the fact, trying to seem mature like he thought an eleven year old should seem, but really that was far from reality._

_"Next week."_

_"Wait! Mum, Dad, you're not coming?" Lucy asked, tears welling up as she was finally struck with the truth. Susan felt a pang of sympathy for her younger sister. _

How hard it would be for an eight year old if I'm feeling like this, _Susan thought to herself._

_"No, sweetie, we can't come. I'm sor-" her father was interrupted by a quiet sob. Soon came a few more from both of the girls, who felt the exact same way for once in their life._

Susan laid her head down on the kitchen table. The wood was hard, and cold, and heartless. The thoughts crashed to her like a trainwreck.

_"Miss Pevensie! You are late, once again. What do you have to say for yourself?" the sharp voice of her instructor punctured the air._

_"I'm sorry, Miss Wilmer, I couldn't find my way here," Susan replied, looking down as she could feel her face turning red. Snickers filled the air as Miss Wilmer frowned._

_"It's your fifth week here, and you've turned eleven. Can't you learn?"_

_"Yes, Miss Wilmer," she replied. _I don't get how Lucy does it! She can sweeten up her teachers in an instant! _Susan thought._

_"See me after class," Miss Wilmer ordered. With a nod, Susan slowly made her way to the back of the room._

_"Girls, we must work on our proper manners for tea..." Class droned on, and finally the clock seemed to get a move on. It struck twelve, and everyone seemed to let out a huge sigh of relief._

_"Make your way to the lunchroom now, girls. Don't be late!" Miss Wilmer said. "Miss Pevensie?"_

_"Yes, Miss Wilmer?" Susan answered, stepping up to the desk._

_"I know how hard you're trying. It's hard to adjust isn't it?"_

_"Yes... it is..." Susan replied, surprised._

_"Oh, teahers have hearts, too you know. But the staff has to be strict and firm during class. I went through boarding school, too. You just have to learn what teachers expect from you," her teacher advised._

_"Yes, Miss Wilmer."_

_"You should better be off to lunch. I don't want to make you late again," Miss Wilmer dissmissed her._

But a whole load of problems was waiting for her in the lunchroom.

_"Oh look! Susan Pevensie is finally here! She probably got lost again."_

_"You should carry a map around!"_

To eleven year old Susan, someone might as well have beat her black and blue with a whip. The remarks stung her heart.

"_Peter, boarding school is horrible!" she wailed to her brother on the telephone._

_"Don't worry, Su. Holidays are coming soon, and we can go home!" Peter tried to cheer her up._

_"How's Ed?"_

_"Terrible. He's perfectly grumpy. What about Lu?"_

_"Same as always. Pretty happy, but she misses Mum and Dad, of course."_

Finally, holidays came, and they were all home again. However, the bliss didn't last long.

**Go me, go me, I got a chapter on early!!!!!!!!!! Sorry; I'm excited. Please review!**


End file.
